Saturday Travel Day May 31

A long drive May 31

Today we left Kildare, later than planned, but Bobby and Ann at Kilroan House are just a hoot to chat with and we were laughing as we headed out the door from conversations we had with them. They not only have great B&B service (Bobby is the cook), but Ann has such a nice feminine touch with the decorations in the rooms. And the linens are really plush. The room did not have an en suite bathroom, but we had the upstairs to ourselves, so it didn't matter.

As all out drives, when the map plan says one time, it always takes us a lot longer, and this was no different. A direct route leaving Kildare to Dingle should take about 3-3 ½ hours. I think it took us between 5 and 6. Before we even left Kildare, we make a stop at the Black Abbey. It was no accessible earlier, so we tried again. Interesting ruin and cemetery just beside the National Stud.

While most of the trip was on the motorway, we did stop in Adare for lunch and a quick perusal of the gift shops. Then on to The Arches for some lunch. This day had a lot of “deja vue” moments. We had had lunch at The Arches 3 years ago on Rita's first visit. When we were there we had this delicious shrimp salad. We repeated that again as we know it had to be just as good, and it was. Picture to follow. :)

After we headed out of town it was off to Tralee and over the Conner Pass to Dingle. I've been over the Conner Pass before, but never when the clouds were so low that the road was barely visible. I missed some of the beautiful views afforded by the scenic viewpoints along the way. I have to say I was glad when we arrived in Dingle after the trip over the mountain.

Our purpose in Dingle was so that Rita could see if she could find out about her ancestry. Her family, the Moriarty's, are from the Dingle area. We actually stopped by the Moriarty Butcher shop just 2 doors down from our Guest House (more on that later), and got some valuable information on possible contacts. Later that night we had dinner at John B. Moriaty's Pub. Not so much because of the name, but is in on the main street and well known. Rita had a chance to chat with John B. and gathered some more information. She now has some good direction to add to what she had already started at home.

Again, going to John B. Moriarty's for dinner was another “deja vue” moment as we ate there 3 years ago. I have to say they have the best mussels around.

Now, just a quick comment on our Guest House. I had not really paid much attention to the titles of the places we were staying except for the ratings and comments on line. So to me, B&B or Guest House made no difference. The only problem for us was that the room was on the 3^rd floor. Actually 2^nd floor here in Ireland. Most of our B&Bs have 2 floors, so we are used to climbing one set of stairs with our luggage. But lugging that luggage up 2 flights, is a bit of a challenge. We managed. The guest house had about 20 rooms, rather than a B&B with anywhere from 3-6 rooms. Otherwise it was the same with a very good breakfast.

So much for the 31^st. :)